New Blog- Come Follow Us!

I've decided to go back to my family blog now that Henley is here. Come follow our new journey through parenthood at www.texasrays.blogspot.com. My blog is private but feel free to email me and I will add you. Thank you all for your support throughout this journey!

Henley's Birth Story

Things don't always go as planned, but just remember, God's timing is perfect.

That was my Facebook post when we found out we were pregnant with Henley. I should have listened to my own advice then. Henley's birth did not go how I had planned, but it was perfect and I cannot imagine it any other way.

We had a doctor's appointment on Tuesday, November 26th. It was my weekly appointment and was moved from Wednesday to Tuesday that week because of Thanksgiving. We got to our appointment and heard her heartbeat and everything sounded great. Then we went for our sonogram. Henley looked beautiful just as she has this whole pregnancy; however, she wasn't moving quite how she should at that point. She was getting crowded and based on this and my MTHFR gene mutation, along with everything else we have been through to get here, Dr. G didn't want to take any chances and suggested we deliver that day. He also recommended a c-section would be best. We could try for a vaginal delivery,  but if it took to long or she got too stressed, we would have to move forward with a c-section anyway. We decided to take his advice and do a c-section. It was not an emergency c-section, but he did want to get her out that day, so we headed straight over to Baylor labor and delivery. Our emotions were everywhere. We had not planned this to happen so soon, and I knew nothing about c-sections. Luckily our car was packed already (thanks to my severe ocd and excessive planning) and once we got into our room, they scheduled us for the procedure at 5, so I had plenty of time to google c-sections!

Last picture with Henley in my belly- 39 weeks 1 day

We waited around in a labor room until about 4pm. Terry actually left at one point and headed back to work to wrap some things up, and my Mom and Dad came up and stayed with me for a little bit.

Waiting for our c-section

Around 4:15 they came in and got me to take me to the operating room. Wheeling into the operating room was so scary. It was a true operating room. I'm not sure what I expected, but the labor and delivery rooms are so peaceful and calming. This was NOT like that… it was a true operating room, with bright lights and an operating table and doctors and nurses everywhere! Right when I got in the room they gave me some meds through my IV to calm me down, which helped a ton. Shortly after that they gave me the epidural, which didn't hurt at all. The surgery started once they confirmed the epidural was working, and it took about an hour and a half to finish the whole thing. They had a sheet up so I couldn't see anything, but Terry was sitting right next to me and could see if he wanted. When they got close to Henley, Dr. G announced that she would be coming out soon, so Terry stood up and watched their every move. A few seconds later, our lives changed for forever- Henley came out and I heard her cry. Tears were uncontrollable. Dr. G showed her to me and they immediately took her to the baby station where they checked her out and cleaned her up. Terry got to hold her about 5 minutes after she was born. He brought her over to me and laid her by me so I could see her and talk to her. She was perfect.

Henley's first picture
Born 11/26/13 at 5:14pm, 6lbs 9oz, 19.75in long

First family picture

After she was all cleaned up, they wheeled us to recovery. Since it was 2 days before Thanksgiving, the recovery room was empty so allowed our parents and sisters to all come back at the same time. All of this time is very blurry to me- I was on a lot of drugs at that point! I do know one thing though- this little girl has brought so much joy and love to our families and you could see how happy everyone was that she was finally here. It was such an emotional time.

Wheeling her to the recovery room

Henley Ray- we love you so much already and even though you have been here a short time, I cannot imagine our lives without you.

We stayed in the hospital through Friday. We had a rough first night, and decided to send Henley to the nursery the last two nights… best thing we did the whole time we were there!! Recovery has been tough, but so worth it.

She's Here!!!

Our princess was born on November 26 at 5:14pm. She weighed 6lbs 9 oz and is 19.75 in long. She is our world!! I'll post more later but here are some pics to hold you over. 

December 5th!

We are officially scheduled to induce on December 5th at 7:30am if Miss Henley does not come before then! We are so excited!

38 Weeks!

Henley is still looking great! I'm still only dilated 1/2 cm, so for now we just wait. We did discuss what happens if she does not come by December 2nd, and Dr. G said that he does not want us to go longer than a week after her due date without inducing. Terry and I are going to discuss tonight, but we think we will go ahead and schedule inducing on December 5th if she's not here by then. So crazy to think that two weeks from tomorrow, we are going to meet this baby girl we have waited so long for. Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we get closer to meeting our daughter. 

xoxo,

Henley's Nursery

Pictures do not do it justice. I am not a designer and am not good at stuff like this, but I am so extremely happy with how her nursery turned out. These pictures were all taken with my iPhone, so the quality isn't so hot, but I'm hoping to get some better pictures with my good camera soon and will post them when I can. Everything is done... now we just need a baby to put in it!! 2 weeks until her due date!!

37 Weeks!

Our appointment today went great! Most importantly, Henley has plenty of fluid and looks great. She is weighing around 6lbs 11oz!! I'm still not dilated at all, which I know is okay, but is beginning to get a little bit frustrating! I'm just so anxious to get things going!

We saw a different doctor today because Dr. G is on vacation. Dr. E was really nice and we were glad to get to meet him. After the exam, he was looking over my chart and asked how many miscarriages we had. I told him 4, and he said that he and his wife had 10 (He was an older man and commented that they just didn't test for things back then the way they do now). I haven't really talked much lately about the journey it took to get here, mainly because we are so focused on Henley's arrival. But I have not forgotten. And I am so very thankful to be here. I continue to pray for Henley about a million times a day. And I continue to pray for those that are still on their journey for a baby. It may not always be an easy journey, but it's worth it!

36 Weeks!

Henley looks great! The sonographer even noted that she has tons of hair. I teared up when she told me that... this is all getting so real and I'm finally starting to realize that this is really happening! I am still not dilated at all, but Dr. G says my cervix is softer than it was last week. Regardless, it looks and sounds like she is pretty comfy in there, so I don't think we have anything to worry about for a bit longer!

My Strep B and HIV tests came back negative last week, so great news! They also switched me off Lovenox to Heparin, which I have to inject twice a day. I'm not going to lie- it hurts. The Lovenox was bad at first but I got used to it... the Heparin is not getting better. All worth it, of course, but hoping that it gets easier at some point!! The point of switching off Lovenox and onto Heparin is that you cannot be on blood thinners and get an epidural because you can bleed into your spine and become paralyzed, so the Heparin acts for 12 hours (vs the Lovenox acting 24 hours), and the hope is that the Heparin will have worn off by the time you need an epidural.

Hospital bags are packed, and we are just waiting for a couple of things from my Aunt for her nursery, and then we're done! I'll post pictures (hopefully this weekend) of the final product. We also got her stroller last week, which was the last big thing on our list, and we're decorating for Christmas this week so that we don't have to do it once she is here, and she will be able to come home to a fully decked out house!

Please keep us in your prayers over the next few weeks as we prepare for this miracle that we have waited patiently for. I cannot even describe the amount of love and happiness I have towards Terry right now, and for our sweet Henley. I am sure that all women at this stage of pregnancy have these emotions, but I just feel like mine are magnified because of what we went through to get here. I am so thankful for Terry, and for the support of our family and friends throughout all of this. 

 

With love,

Crockpot Freezer Meals

Terry and I have a hard enough time now figuring out what we are going to eat, so I can't imagine how stressful it will be when Henley is here. I decided to make some freezer meals that I could just throw in the crockpot. Pinterest helped me out and gave me some recipes to go off of, mostly from this blog. I decided to start with chicken meals, and hopefully over the next few weekends I can do some beef meals. This was so easy and cheap. My grocery bill was right around $100 but I ended up with a lot of leftover stuff, and my prep time was about an hour and a half (that includes about 14 potty breaks :) ).

Here are most of the ingredients used, although I started adding to the recipes once I got going. I hope they turn out good!

I used the recipes on the blog linked above for the following:

Cilantro Lime Chicken
Chicken Fajitas
Creamy Italian Chicken (I ended up adding mushrooms and tomatoes to this and will serve over pasta)
BBQ Cranberry Chicken
Cheesy Chili Chicken
Chicken Tortilla Soup

I'll keep you posted on how they all turned out once we start cooking them!

35 Weeks!

Henley's 3D modeling days are over... she is way too squished in there to get a good shot! Our 35 week appointment and sono went great today. She is looking awesome (and is still a girl- we I continue to ask them check every week). In addition to checking up on Henley, we also did our first cervix check today- ouch. I am not dilated at all, which is fine with me as I think she still needs a few more weeks to cook! We also did the 3rd trimester HIV test, strep B test, and I got the whooping cough vaccine, so there were a lot of needles and a lot of activity in my lady parts! Next week should be less eventful- another sono and cervix check. I can't wait to see Henley again!

34 Weeks and Nursery Pics

We had our 34 week sono today and all looked great. Henley was NOT a happy camper. We got ZERO pictures of her. She was all squished up in there and at one point she got really mad- you could tell on her face that she was grouchy today. As much as I'm ready to meet her, I think today is one of those days I'm glad she was in my tummy and not out here. :)

Her nursery is coming along. My Aunt has finished all the bedding and is now working on the monogrammed chair pillow, roman shade, and changing pad covers. I'm still working on some of the decor on the bookshelf and I'm not quite done with the collage above her dresser. Here are some pictures of where we are now. I'll add more later. I'm so happy with how it's all turning out. I just hope it gets finished before she gets here!!!

33 Weeks!

Henley is looking great! Fluid levels are all good and she weighs ~ 4lbs 9oz!! We finally got a clear shot of her face today. I still think she looks just like her Daddy. The sonographer did comment that she has really chubby cheeks and a double chin. And look at those lips!!

 

32 Weeks!

We had our 32 week sono today and all looks great with Henley! She has plenty of fluid, and her 'breathing' and movements all look normal. We will be going back weekly for a sonogram to check on these things. We are also still attempting to get a good 3D pic of her. She is just not cooperating. She loves to have her hand on her face!! We will try again next week!